ING Direct Gets A New Name Following Capital One Acquisition

ING Direct announced today that it will be changing its name – and saying goodbye to its signature orange color – this coming February. According to an email sent to customers, ING Direct will become Capital One 360. The move follows Capital One’s acquisition of ING Direct USA, the largest direct bank in the country, last June. In addition to the name change, ING’s orange will be replaced by dark blue and maroon. Customers eager to see the new color scheme can even “paint” the new logo at http://www.capitalone360.com/. The bank promises no significant changes to service.

“As of February, we'll have a new name and fresh look on the outside,” the bank told customers in an email. “But on the inside, it's the same ING Direct you've come to know and love.”

The same email hinted that the bank will reveal a set of product updates in December of this year.

Capital One acquired the online banking pioneer for $9 billion in June of 2011. When I spoke with ING Direct CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann in December about his bank’s unique way of doing business, he didn’t anticipate major brand changes. “Capital One is really looking to keep the brand going the way it is now. There are no radical changes, although there may be some changes over time. They really like the mission that we’re doing. They’re talking about increasing the number of people and giving us more resources to grow,” he said.

“I think the Capital One guys are pretty excited about this; this is what they want to do to transition their businesses and grow their business,” Kuhlmann told me. “They’ve got some big challenges ahead and I think some of the things we do at ING Direct can really help them.”

Update: A Capital One spokesperson tells me that the company was, "legally required to change the ING Direct name as part of our acquisition."